1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to marine vessels (commonly referred to as jack-up vessels) that include multiple legs connected to a hull, each leg being powered with jacking mechanism to elevate the hull above a water surface. More particularly the present invention relates to a cleaning system (method and apparatus) for removing mud or other sea bottom sediment from the legs after they are elevated so that they can be fully inspected.
2. General Background of the Invention
A specialized marine work vessel is known as a jack-up platform or rig. Such a vessel has a hull and at least three legs connected to the hull. Each leg has a rack that engages one or more toothed gears or pinions driven by powerful motors. These motors and gears can elevate the hull upon the legs to a position above a water surface. The hull can then be used as a stable work platform to perform a number of tasks such as oil well drilling, maintenance, repairs and others. An example of a jack-up vessel can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,676 and hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The lower end of each of the legs of the jack-up vessel are each typically provided with an enlarged foot or can. This lower end portion of each jack-up rig leg is designed to engage and if necessary penetrate the seabed. Often, the seabed is of a soft material such as mud, silt, clay, a combination of soft sedimentary materials or other known soft material that adheres to the leg lower end portion.